Discussion of the archaeological ethics surrounding the collecting of antiquities and archaeological material.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Looting Matters: Looking Ahead to 2012

2012 will start with the award of the Archaeological Institute of America's Outstanding Public Service Award. I hope that this will encourage a rigorous debate over compliance especially by those involved in the antiquities market.

On past records it can be expected that more objects identified from photographic archives will appear on the market. The main matter of concern is that one auction house seems to press on with sales even when objects have been spotted.

The US Government seems to be developing a series of MOUs with other countries to restrict the movement of recently surfaced antiquities. I suspect that there will be some interesting protests from some quarters.

I hope to concentrate on more of the intellectual consequences of looting.

As always, I am grateful to readers for their support and frequent suggestions for stories.

3 comments:

David,You say, "The main matter of concern is that one auction house seems to press on with sales even when objects have been spotted." I assume you mean Bonhams, so why don't you name them?Happy New Year!Tom

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About Me

David Gill is Professor of Archaeological Heritage and Director of Heritage Futures at the University of Suffolk. He was a Rome Scholar at the British School at Rome and a Sir James Knott Fellow at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He was subsequently part of the Department of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge, and Reader in Mediterranean Archaeology, Swansea University. He holds the Archaeological Institute of America's Outstanding Public Service Award (2012).